Apple, Inc. (AAPL) has long maligned the Windows PC as being virus laden, while promoting its own Mac computers as being immune to such evils. But despite this "It just works" publicity campaign, recent OS X malware [1][2][3][4] has forced Apple onto the defensive, silently rolling out tools to remove malicious programs from users' computers.

I. Malware Enslaves Unwitting Mac Users' GPUs

Now another piece of malware has struck unsuspecting Mac owners. The new multiplatform trojan, reported in the wild by security firms Sophos Security and Intego, is much more sophisticated than most of the past malware to hit the Mac platform.

The malicious program installs as part of infected torrent downloads from sites such as The Pirate Bay. Thus far the malware has been primarily found to be piggybacking on pirated copies of the image editing app GraphicConverter version 7.4 (whose authors are not involved in the screen and do not approve of the pirating in the first place). The onboard malware is officially known in security circles as OSX/Miner-D, and is nicknamed the "DevilRobber".

Mac torrenters may find themselves the victim of a clever new trojan -- as usual Apple remains silent on the issue. [Source: iQuid]

Once installed on the victim's machine, the malware opens a back-door to the OS X system, allow remote command-and-control. It also monitors your computer, attempting to steal personal information like credit cards.

To do this it takes screenshots. It also periodically dumps confidential information from various applications -- such as truecrypt data, Vidalia (TOR plugin for Firefox), your Safari browsing history, and .bash_history -- into the creatively named file dump.txt. It also records your username and passwords via monitoring using a proxy server (on port 34522 in the most common variant, but likely to change).

Bitcoins are a nation agnostic cyber-currency, beloved by hackers, internet aficionados, and libertarians (among others). In order to seed the initial distribution of "wealth" on the market, people can use computing resources to "mine" Bitcoins, via clients.

The key part of DevilRobber is a Bitcoin mining Java program which the core trojan executes. The trojan enslaves the target's GPU to harvest Bitcoins. Due to the hard-to-trace nature of the cryptocurrency, the malware's authors can successfully obfuscate their identity and safeguard their profits.

The mining program is often how the infection is first noticed, as it makes the system respond sluggishly, given the load it places on the GPU.

As a secondary tactic, the core trojan also attempts to access any unencrypted Bitcoin wallets it can find. It is unknown whether it contains code to access encrypted wallets, but it is reasonable to assume that future updates could deliver the ability to "crack" weakly encrypted wallet files. Compromised wallets transfer their Bitcoin riches to the attacker.

Curiously, the trojan also deletes any files leading pthc. This acronym is associated in internet forums with the phrase "pre-teen hardcore pornograph", aka child porn. It almost appears that the trojan writers have attempted to do a bit of good amid all the evil they have created.

II. Lessons Learned

The new attack illustrates some of the issues surrounding both Apple computers and Bitcoins.

[Sources: Bitcoin Forum (left); Nerd Merit Badges (right)]

For Apple, it's yet another indication that company's public effort to feign ignorance on malware is harming customers. While tech-savvy Mac users understand their platforms are just as susceptible to infections as PCs, in theory if not in practice, less tech-savvy users often believe their Mac is magically immune to infection. This belief is perpetuated by Apple's advertisements and the company's technicians, which were revealed to be under orders to lie to customers -- feigning ignorance of infections. This approach has led to at least some of Apple's customers being victimized by the hacking community.

This situation is only likely to get worse, as Apple refuses to publicly acknowledge the danger, as Microsoft has, for risk of losing its "it just works" public image. But currently in third place in computer sales by vendor, and with what some hackers say are weaker protections than Windows 7, interest in malicious Mac hacking is trending upwards.

As for Bitcoins, the cryptocurrency holds great promise, as it is formulated to prevent local government corruption, double spending, inflation, and ineffectual government monetary regulation. However, the Bitcoin market has been dealt a series of setbacks, both via the entrance of cybercriminals as large-scale miners, and from account breaches.